Photo by Mark Neal
Due to the length, short stories are often overlooked and disregarded compared to novels. They can still bring the same compelling plot and characters to keep readers hooked.
The compact package that is a short story still takes a lot of thought processing and careful consideration when written, just as much as long-form novels do. If you are an aspiring author who wants to take the first plunge in writing, a short story can be an excellent place to start. But first, you must familiarize yourself with fundamental knowledge of what a short story is and what types you can explore.
Short stories are typically finished in one sitting, over an hour or less. They do not have a limit in length, but most have one to ten thousand words, with ten up to twenty-five pages. Some may not consider short stories a novel, but they are often categorized under the “novella” length. A “flash fiction” consists of only a thousand words or less, while a “micro fiction” only has three hundred words.
The Key Elements Of A Short Story
Setting – mainly pertains to the time and place. Extra effort is needed to make this aspect work since there won’t be much detailed introduction or backstory.
Plot – short stories utilize a single plot, rather than having multiple subplots as seen in novels. The usual order is as follows:
- Initial description
- Rising action
- Climax
- Resolution (usually at the end)
In the case of contemporary short stories, the plot begins in the middle to draw readers into the dramatic part of the story.
Central Theme – also known as the story’s “moral lesson,” this was the direction of some short stories in the past. Nowadays, authors prefer to go with an open ending. And because they end up unresolved, the readers are left with questions that make them ponder the story. Vague conclusions also make them more understanding of the complexities of life.
Literary Devices – with short stories being a suitable place for academic experimentation, authors will try to incorporate tools like a point of view, foreshadowing, metaphor, word choice, tone, and structure. You can see more of it in a collection of short stories in Clements’ book.
Different Types Of Short Stories
As brief pieces of prose that highlight a few characters within a single event, short stories follow an action format instead of being expository. Out of all the numerous short story styles, we will single out a few popular ones like the following:
Flash Fiction
Conveying profound truths and complex human emotions are the main themes that aim to resonate heavily with the reader in a few paragraphs. Flash fiction does not have a minimum word count, and unlike traditional short stories, they can even be a few words long.
What Should A Flash Fiction Have?
These are the main characteristics of flash fiction:
- Brevity – the author, should compress the entire story into short paragraphs. As mentioned, there is no minimum word count for flash fiction, but mostly they contain around six words up to a thousand at length.
- Completed Plot – even with the brevity, a flash fiction still needs to have a beginning, middle and ending. These are the traits that set flash fiction apart from poetry. Including emotion, memory, and thought along with the plot is crucial.
- Surprise Factor – a flash fiction that can’t take a reader by surprise is a flash fiction written in waste. It may seem like a gimmicky thing, but a surprise factor helps keep the reader on their toes, anticipating what happens next.
Fable
Anthropomorphic creatures are the main characters in this type of short story. The most famous ones are animals, but there are also characters like plants, mythical creatures, inanimate objects, and the forces of nature. They are given human-like qualities, and they can communicate with each other in the stories. Fables often try to deliver a moral lesson at the end. They are also similar to parables, except that the latter uses real people in realistic situations, unlike entirely fictional fables.
Vignette
A vignette is short, impressionistic, and narrows the entire story down to one scene, setting, idea, and character. It does not follow the typical structure or development and can either be a stand-alone or a small piece among a larger body of work.
In Conclusion
You have plenty of resources to choose what type of short story you want to try first. What matters is you get the fundamentals right and always ask for help if you have a hard time looking for inspiration. It takes a good writer to make a concise but impactful literary form, so you should give it your best and plan things out carefully.
